Do you vote/comment on stories you read?

[peebudy]

I was wondering if folks vote and/or comment on the stories they read, and to hear your reasoning why or why not.

Personally, I love feedback on my stories, so I try to vote AND comment on every story I read fully.

If I get a few paragraphs into a story and find it boring or not my cup of tea, I usually pass on voting/commenting. Just because I may not like scat or hardcore BDSM, I don't think I should ding an author if their story contains that stuff. I just stop reading and find a more suitable story for my own kinks and perversions.

Since the folks here take story construction, spelling and grammar seriously, I take this into account when voting, but try not to get all snarky about it in the commentary.

What's your method or approach?

Pray for rain!
-- peabudy

 

[sr71plt]

I rarely read the stories. When I do, I usually only vote if I feel a 4 or 5 is justified. Nobody even wants a 4 around here, because the "hot" zone is so limited, so I have to think the story is pretty bad to vote below that. Since I rarely read, I rarely comment, but if I do, it's not as any sort of feeling of obligation, but because I feel motivated at that time to post something.

 

[PennLady]

Sometimes

I almost always vote on a story, although as sr71plt said, I rarely vote below a 4. On the other hand, sometimes I feel a story is poorly done enough to rate a 2 or 3 and so I vote that way. You've put yourself out there, you have to take the risk.

Commenting is different. Sometimes I prefer to just leave an encouraging note. Other times -- often times -- when I see poor grammar, poor punctuation, etc., I say nothing. A part of me says that if someone posts a story with such poor elements, they probably don't care and nothing I can say will make them care. Plus, it's frustrating when you read a poorly-done story and see comments raving about it. I've no desire to be flamed and leave it alone. Sometimes, if I feel strongly enough, I'll send a private feedback to the author; that seems a good compromise. My feelings are known, and if the author wants to respond, they can.

Yes, if I find a story that contains kinks or practices I don't like, I might vote if it's well-written, but I won't penalize the author because *I* don't like the content.

PL

I was wondering if folks vote and/or comment on the stories they read, and to hear your reasoning why or why not.

Personally, I love feedback on my stories, so I try to vote AND comment on every story I read fully.

If I get a few paragraphs into a story and find it boring or not my cup of tea, I usually pass on voting/commenting. Just because I may not like scat or hardcore BDSM, I don't think I should ding an author if their story contains that stuff. I just stop reading and find a more suitable story for my own kinks and perversions.

Since the folks here take story construction, spelling and grammar seriously, I take this into account when voting, but try not to get all snarky about it in the commentary.

What's your method or approach?

Pray for rain!
-- peabudy

 

[PacoFear]

Voting-wise: I vote for 4's or 5's where warranted. If it's worse than that I just click away. No sense in wasting my time.

Commenting-wise: if there was something in the story I thought was particularly clever I acknowledge it with a compliment.

 

[LadyGreyFortress]

I often read and always try to vote. As far as comments, I rarely do. I am not an author so I think my ideas of how to tell a story are not particularly valid. If something is enjoyable to me, that is the time I comment.

 

[D_K_Moon]

I often read and always try to vote. As far as comments, I rarely do. I am not an author so I think my ideas of how to tell a story are not particularly valid. If something is enjoyable to me, that is the time I comment.

Your comments as a reader are as just as valuable as comments from other writers are. You may not know how to tell a story, but you can certainly tell if a story is told well. And that view is just as valuable.

 

[driphoney]

I was wondering if folks vote and/or comment on the stories they read, and to hear your reasoning why or why not.

Personally, I love feedback on my stories, so I try to vote AND comment on every story I read fully.

If I get a few paragraphs into a story and find it boring or not my cup of tea, I usually pass on voting/commenting. Just because I may not like scat or hardcore BDSM, I don't think I should ding an author if their story contains that stuff. I just stop reading and find a more suitable story for my own kinks and perversions.

Since the folks here take story construction, spelling and grammar seriously, I take this into account when voting, but try not to get all snarky about it in the commentary.

What's your method or approach?

Pray for rain!
-- peabudy

I rarely read the stories. When I do, I usually only vote if I feel a 4 or 5 is justified. Nobody even wants a 4 around here, because the "hot" zone is so limited, so I have to think the story is pretty bad to vote below that. Since I rarely read, I rarely comment, but if I do, it's not as any sort of feeling of obligation, but because I feel motivated at that time to post something.

I'm pretty much with SR on this. What I say here and what I post on someone's story are two different things. Here, they're usually asking for more writerly help, something more than just fan mail (or they get it anyway, whether they expect it or not!) My voting standards are very generous, I'm not grading them, and my comments are pure fan mail. I read their story to enjoy it, not be their editor or English teacher.

The scoring is a little tough, because most people think of a 5-star as "One of the very best!" because that's what the star says! Plus, maximum stars means 100% or close, right? But I tend to look at it differently. Here's how I think of it: 1- 0 points, 2 - up to 25%, 3 - up to 50%, 4 - up to 75%, and 5 - up to 100%. That means a 5 is 76% to 100%, right? When you read a story, would you give it an 80%? (typically a B) Then it gets 5-stars in my book.

Authors here aren't writing in hopes of a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. They submit in hopes of giving someone enjoyment and nothing more.

 

[polynices]

My standards aren't at all strict. If I finish a story and I found it interesting and/or exciting in some way, I give it 5. Similarly, any comments I leave are - I think - always positive. If I don't finish a story, I don't vote or comment.

None of this is a consciously worked-out policy on my part. It's just what I do. I realise that if everybody behaved like me, the voting system would be pretty meaningless. However, I have a lot of sympathy with other authors. I know the motivations that cause people to write and post stories - because I share them - and I know that producing any kind of story takes more effort than most non-writing readers probably realise. So I feel obliged to encourage anyone who's written a half-way decent story.

- polynices

 

[Experiencedguy]

Actually, I frequently vote on stories (giving them what I think they deserve). If I read a story that is not to my liking, I won't vote.

As far as comments - if I feel that a comment is necessary, or asked for, I use PM's. I am expressing my viewpoint -- why should I put that out in public when my personal thoughts may make others readers opnions vary. Infrequently, I do make public comments.

Most authors appreciate PM's, and most (but not all) respond. And (most) all thanking me for my input. Even if they don't agree with my opinions,